Attendance

Regular school attendance is one of the most important factors determining your child’s academic success. The law states that regular school attendance is mandatory. Absences for the following reasons are considered excused absences: illness, quarantine, or medical/dental care; funeral for immediate family member; family emergency; required appearance in court; and observance of a religious holiday. Absences due to family trips or any other reasons not on the previous list are unexcused absences. When possible, please schedule doctors’ appointments after school hours or towards the end of the school day.

In addition, California Education Code 48260 defines students who are truant: “Any pupil subject to full-time education who is absent from school without a valid excuse for more than 30 minutes on each of three days in one school year is a truant and shall be reported to the attendance supervisor or the superintendent of the school district.”​

Absences: Sometimes students must miss school. It is important that the school knows when your child is not in attendance. Please provide a written notification or call the school secretary at (831) 425-7002 before 9:00 a.m. each and every day your child will not be attending school, even during absences of multiple days. Include the following information in your note or phone message:

The student’s full name

The student’s grade level or teacher’s name

Your name and relationship to the child

The reason for the absence (sick, vacation, etc.)

The duration of the absence (will be in by 10:30 a.m., etc.)

For safety reasons we must determine why each absent student is missing from school every day. We begin calling families of absent students who have not communicated with us at 9:00 a.m. each morning. Please reduce the office’s work load by providing us with all of the information above in a timely manner.

Late Arrival:Note: All late arrival policies apply equally to IS and 5-day students. Please ensure your student arrives on time to school every day. Attendance is taken on the blacktop at 8:40 a.m. sharp. All students who arrive late to school (i.e. after 8:40 a.m.) must check in at the school’s office to receive a tardy slip before going to class. If your student will be arriving after 9:00 a.m., please call the office with the information described above for absences. Late-arriving students are one of the biggest disruptions we experience in our classrooms and in the school office. Signing in tardy students hinders the ability of the office staff to deal effectively with emergencies and other situations that come up each morning. The morning is also disrupted for their classmates, and classroom teachers are forced to repeat directions. The late student may feel embarrassed and miss crucial instruction. Thank you for helping your student arrive on time every day. It helps not just your student, but the entire school community.

Early Dismissal/Appointments:Please schedule appointments for the end of the school day if at all possible in order to decrease classroom disruptions and avoid unnecessary absences. Send a note with your child if he/she needs to leave early. He/she must be signed out by a parent/guardian using the early sign-out clipboard in the office. Children must be picked up from the office. Please do not go to the classroom to pick up your child unless otherwise directed by the office staff. Please sign your child back in through the office if returning him/her to school.

Truancy:In order to comply with state law and help our students receive a good education, the following procedures will be followed in the case of unexcused absences and/or excessive tardies (three times tardy 30 minutes or more, or more than five times late less than 30 minutes):

Step 1: After the second unexcused absence, late over 30 minutes, or three times tardy under 30 minutes, parents will receive a phone call from the office urging improvement in attendance.

Step 2: After three unexcused absences, three times late over 30 minutes, or more than five times tardy under 30 minutes, a letter will be mailed home informing the parent/guardian of the attendance record and possible consequences.

Step 3: If additional unexcused absences, lates, or tardies occur, a second letter will be sent home and a conference will be scheduled with the Superintendent/Principal to develop an improvement plan.

​Step 4: If the attendance problem continues, a third letter will be mailed home and the parents/guardians and student will be referred to the Santa Cruz County Student Attendance and Review Board (S.A.R.B.) for action. The parent/guardian and student will be required to meet with the county S.A.R.B. panel, and the S.A.R.B. panel may refer the case to the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s office for legal action.

​Interdistrict Transfer Students: Board Policy specifically states in part, “The Superintendent may deny or revoke an Interdistrict Attendance Agreement for any of the following reasons: . . . The student has a history of unsatisfactory attendance or fails to regularly attend Pacific School.”